Paul Bettany
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"Busking is a very dull job. I sang things like 'Money (That's What I Want)' by the Beatles. It requires no skill. You just have to have a strong voice and shout loudly. I love playing my guitar though. I don't travel anywhere without it and I still believe it's true that the world can be divided into those people who would rather have a drink with John Lennon and those who would rather drink with Paul McCartney."---Paul Bettany
"I don't do larging it. Not for any moral reasons, simply because I'm fantastically bad at it. I hate parties, and I find members' clubs revolting. I apologize in advance for how boring and fake this is going to sound, but when you get to work 12 hours a day for month after month with inspirational actors, directors and cinematographers whose work you have loved for years, that's a hell of a life."---Bettany quoted in the London Times, August 30, 2001.
Biography
With his fair-haired charm and refined voice, British actor Paul Bettany established himself as a gifted actor well before catapulting to blockbuster fame as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Born in London to a family rooted in the theater, he began performing as a teenager before attending the Drama Centre. He soon began earning roles on stage, including appearing in Royal Shakespeare Company productions of "Richard III" and "Romeo and Juliet." He made his screen debut with an appearance on the crime drama "Wycliffe" (ITV, 1993-98). His film debut came when he joined Clive Owens and Jude Law for the drama "Bent" (1997). Mixing stage and TV roles, the actor soon earned the lead in the crime drama "Gangster No. 1" (2000). That brought him to the attention of Hollywood, and he was cast as Chaucer alongside Heath Ledger's jousting champion in "A Knight's Tale" (2001). He then appeared with Russell Crowe in Ron Howard's Oscar-winning drama "A Beautiful Mind" (2001), where he met his future wife, actress Jennifer Connelly. After appearing in Lars von Trier's "Dogville" (2003), he once again paired with Crowe for the high seas drama "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" (2003). Returning to a leading man role, he appeared opposite Kirsten Dunst in the tennis romance "Wimbledon." One of the other actor's in that film, fledging director Jon Favreau, started Bettany down a long path to superhero status when he used him as the voice of Tony Stark's computer J.A.R.V.I.S. in "Iron Man" (2005). The actor continued working steadily in Hollywood, including playing the murderous monk, Silas, in the Tom Hanks' action thriller "The Da Vinci Code" (2006). He also had the opportunity to work again with Connelly in "Inkheart" (2008) and when he played Charles Darwin in "Creation" (2009). In the MCU, he continued to voice J.A.R.V.I.S. in the films "Iron Man 2" (2010), "The Avengers" (2012), and "Iron Man 3" (2013). Bettany finally got to join the onscreen action when his computer alter ego transitioned into the android superhero The Vision in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015). From then on, he became a prime component of the Marvel films, appearing as the character in "Captain America: Civil War" (2016) and "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018). Outside of his Marvel commitments, the actor formed a loose partnership with Johnny Depp, joining him for three films, "The Tourist" (2010), "Transcendence" (2014), and "Mortdecai" (2016). He also starred as the archangel Michael in "Legion" (2010) and as a vampire hunting clergyman in "Priest" (2011). In addition, he made his directorial debut with "Shelter" (2014), featuring Connelly and his future "Avengers" costar Anthony Mackie. On television, he appeared as notorious criminal Ted Kaczynski in "Manhunt: Unabomber" (Discovery Channel, 2017-). Already a part of cinematic lore, he then joined the expansive "Star Wars" universe when he played Dryden Voss in "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (2018).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1992
Acted in Stephen Daldry's acclaimed revival of "An Inspector Calls"
1997
Appeared as Prince William of Orange in the British TV production "Sharpe's Waterloo"
1997
Film acting debut, playing a Nazi captain in "Bent"
1998
Had supporting role in "Land Girls"
2000
Co-starred in the black comedy "Dead Babies"
2000
First leading role in films, as the young incarnation of the title character in the British drama "Gangster No. 1"
2000
Debut in a U.S. TV production, cast as James Steerforth in the TNT miniseries adaptation of "David Copperfield"
2001
Breakthrough screen role as an often naked Geoffrey Chaucer in "A Knight's Tale"
2001
Cast opposite Russell Crowe, who portrayed mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., in Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind"
2003
Cast as a young monk who joins a traveling band of actors in "The Reckoning"
2003
Starred in the feature "The Heart of Me," an adaptation of Rosamond Lehmann's novel <i>The Echoing Grove</i>
2003
Re-teamed with Crowe for Peter Weir's "Master and Commander"
2004
Co-starred with Nicole Kidman as Tom Edison, the self-appointed town spokesman, in Lars von Trier's "Dogville"
2004
Played an aging tennis pro opposite Kirsten Dunst in Richard Loncraine's "Wimbledon"
2006
Portrayed albino monk Silas in Ron Howard's big-screen adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code"
2006
Co-starred with Harrison Ford in the thriller "Firewall"
2008
Co-starred in the feature adaption of the bestselling novel "The Secret Life of Bees"
2010
Played the archangel Michael, who has become a fallen angel, in the apocalyptic thriller "Legion"
2010
Co-starred with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in "The Tourist"
2011
Joined the ensemble cast of the financial drama thriller "Margin Call"
2012
Voiced Jarvis in "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3"
2015
Made the jump to an on-screen role in the MCU as "Vision" in "Avengers: Age of Ultron"
2016
Reprised Vision in "Captain America: Civil War"
2018
Returned again for "Avengers: Infinity War"
2018
Made his "Star Wars" debut in the underseen "Solo: A Star Wars Story"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"Busking is a very dull job. I sang things like 'Money (That's What I Want)' by the Beatles. It requires no skill. You just have to have a strong voice and shout loudly. I love playing my guitar though. I don't travel anywhere without it and I still believe it's true that the world can be divided into those people who would rather have a drink with John Lennon and those who would rather drink with Paul McCartney."---Paul Bettany
"I don't do larging it. Not for any moral reasons, simply because I'm fantastically bad at it. I hate parties, and I find members' clubs revolting. I apologize in advance for how boring and fake this is going to sound, but when you get to work 12 hours a day for month after month with inspirational actors, directors and cinematographers whose work you have loved for years, that's a hell of a life."---Bettany quoted in the London Times, August 30, 2001.
"My wife didn't recognise me. It wasn't what she bought, you know. She was rightly convinced before that the way I looked, no one would be interested in me. But suddenly I was in the gym and looking lean. Fortunately, the baby then came along, and I was back to looking knackered."---Bettany on getting fit for his role in "Wimbledon" to film.guardian.co.uk, January 25, 2004.
"Talking about acting ca be really tough, because you sound like an ass," he says. "It is very much akin to sex: It's enormously fun to do and a little embarrassing to talk about afterward."---Bettany quoted in Premiere, July/August 2004.
